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Market Watch: May 27

May 27, 2022 | 5:34 PM

Big Picture

North American Indexes Stabilize on Strong Earnings From Retailers, Banks

U.S. stocks registered solid gains in a broad-based rally on Monday. The Dow rose 618 points, the Nasdaq climbed 180 and the S&P 500 added 72 points, with all 11 S&P sectors in the green. The TSX was closed Monday for the Victoria Day holiday.

Monday’s optimism faded on Tuesday, however, as U.S. stock indexes ended mostly lower, fueled by another selloff in the tech sector. The Nasdaq dropped 271 points, while the S&P 500 surrendered 32 and the Dow was up slightly. Also weighing on sentiment was news that sales of new U.S. single-family homes fell to a two-year low in April, as higher mortgage rates forced many potential homebuyers to the sidelines. In Canada, the TSX added 88 points, buoyed by resource and financial shares.

North American stocks bounced back on Wednesday, however, as Fed minutes from its recent policy meeting indicated few surprises in the Fed’s ongoing battle with inflation. All three major U.S. indexes recorded modest gains, while the TSX hit its highest mark in more than a week, boosted by surprisingly strong bank earnings and higher oil prices.

It was another strong day for North American indexes Thursday as strong results from U.S. retailers and waning concerns of an over-aggressive Fed boosted investor sentiment. It was also a strong day for tech, as the Nasdaq climbed nearly 2.7 per cent, while the S&P 500 rose two per cent and the Dow added 1.6 per cent. All three U.S. indexes are on track to snap a prolonged weekly losing streak. In Canada, the TSX turned in another strong performance, rising nearly 150 points.

North American Markets Regain Ground

For the four trading days covered in this report, the Dow jumped 1,375 points to close at 32,637, the S&P 500 added 157 points to settle at 4,058, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq rose 386 points to close at 11,740. In Canada, the TSX climbed 335 points to end at 20,532.

Strategy

Canadian retail sales were unchanged in March, below expectations of a 1.4 per cent increase

Canadian retail sales were unchanged in March, below expectations of a 1.4 per cent increase. While March receipts were up in 10 out of 11 subsectors led by higher sales at gasoline stations, lower sales at motor vehicle and parts dealers erased the gains in the remaining sectors. In volume terms, sales were down one per cent. Receipts at gasoline stations were up 7.4 per cent in March, the third consecutive increase and tenth gain in the last 11 months. Gasoline prices rose 11.8 per cent monthly, partly due to uncertainty surrounding supply following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Contrarily, core retail sales, which exclude gasoline and automotive and parts, increased 1.5 per cent in March.

Meantime, the CFIB Business Barometer, a measure of small business confidence over the next 12 months, fell three points to 61.6 in May. Despite the slight drop, the general state of business is on the upswing and better than in the previous months, with 43 per cent of businesses reporting being in a good state, compared to 16 per cent who said they were in a bad shape. 54 per cent of the businesses surveyed said that labour shortage was the biggest factor limiting business growth in May, while fuel and energy prices continued to be the major cost constraint as reported by 76 per cent of businesses.

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